


Knowledge is Power: The Fall and Rise of Maleficent

by violethowler



Series: Kingdom Hearts III Meta [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Character Analysis, Essays, Gen, Meta, Nonfiction, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts III
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-04 22:26:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17906807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violethowler/pseuds/violethowler
Summary: Maleficent's threat level comes from how much she knows that the heroes don't. And after Kingdom Hearts III, she's in position to learna lot.





	Knowledge is Power: The Fall and Rise of Maleficent

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about Maleficent's role in the series last night, and I wanted to get the entire burst of inspiration I had all written down and share it with the fandom.

This little burst of inspiration came from multiple sources yesterday. I was thinking about Maleficent’s role in the future of the series while re-watching the epilogue of Kingdom Hearts III on YouTube, and earlier that day, I had read a fanfic about the rest of Ansem’s apprentices dealing with Braig’s absence, and someone commented about how surprised everyone would be when he turned up with a Keyblade and calling himself Luxu when it occurred to me: none of the main characters have any idea who the Foretellers are. They still thing Xigbar is dead and don’t even know that he’s really an immortal Keyblade Master from the Age of Fairy Tales. The only person who has even a piece of the puzzle now is Maleficent.

In retrospect, what made Maleficent so dangerous in the first game was that she had knowledge of the universe that Sora – and by extension, the audience – didn’t. By the time she’s defeated in Hollow Bastion, all of her secrets are known to us, and we’re aware that Maleficent was a small fish compared to Xehanort. And in the year that it takes her to come back to life, the rest of the cast moves on. From Kingdom Hearts II up through re:coded, Sora and the audience continue to learn new things about the series’ lore, and Maleficent is the one having to play catch-up. She was still getting caught up on the Nobodies and the existence of Organization XIII by the time we were on the fourth world of KH2. In re:coded, she’s as knowledgeable about technology as Sora.

In addition, for most of the Xehanort saga, she’s been primarily relying on information spoon-fed to her by others to further their own agendas. Xehanort tells her about the existence of other worlds and the purpose of the Princesses of Heart to manipulate her into finding seven pure lights for his plan to complete the X – Blade. Her search for the Black Box in Kingdom Hearts III is based on limited information implied to have been given to her by Luxu to keep her out of the way.

But now, she’s taking the initiative, grabbing hold of the secrets of the Keyblade War herself. After three games spent scrambling and clawing to get back the power she once had, Maleficent has shifted tactics. Instead of perpetually attacking from a position of disadvantage, she needs to hunt for the knowledge that will give her an advantage over her enemies. To get what she wants, she must learn to be patient and play the long game.  

Now, Maleficent has set the stage for a dramatic return to the threat and power she had in Kingdom Hearts I. Because for the first time in seventeen years, Maleficent knows something the heroes don’t. Think about it. It’s clear throughout the series that nobody has any idea about the Foretellers or any of the lore surrounding the Union X era. Sora, Riku, and the other Guardians of Light still think Xigbar’s dead. They have no clue that he’s still alive and an immortal who’s walked the worlds since the first Keyblade War. While the heroes are back on the Destiny Islands celebrating their victory, Maleficent and Pete are the sole witnesses to Luxu bringing the Foretellers (most of them, anyway) back from the dead.

We don’t know where Maleficent went after she and Pete walked off-screen in the epilogue, but I find it unlikely that she wouldn’t find a way to eavesdrop on that “long story” the Foretellers are being filled in on. We’re going into this next saga with new threats on the horizon, Maleficent on the rise once again, and our heroes none the wiser.

TL;DR: Maleficent’s threat level comes from how much information about the series lore she has access to. The events of KH1 knocked her from her pedestal after almost a decade of success had gone to her head, and after several games’ worth of humble pie, she’s ready to start the long, bloody climb back to the top, because she alone has seen what’s coming.


End file.
